President Obama plans to overhaul the Joint Chiefs of Staff this year as he seeks to replace a handful of longtime members whose terms are coming to a close. Obama on Tuesday nominated Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, commandant of the Marine Corps, to succeed Army Gen. Martin Dempsey as chairman this fall. He also tapped Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, head of U.S. Transportation Command, to replace Navy Adm. James “Sandy” Winnefeld as vice chairman. In the roles since 2011, Dempsey and Winnefeld are expected to retire after their current two-year terms end in October and August, respectively. What’s more,...

The Maersk Tigris was released Thursday, more than a week after the ship was seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a statement from the shipping company. The cargo vessel was transiting the Strait of Hormuz on April 28 when Iranian military vessels fired warning shots at the ship and directed it to proceed into Iranian waters. The ship and crew has been held ever since over a business dispute with Maersk Line. “The release follows a constructive dialogue with the Iranian authorities, including the Ports & Maritime Organization, and the provision of a letter of undertaking...

The Chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff on Sunday defended the pace of the air war against Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists, warning that escalating bombing raids or sending in more American troops would be a mistake. During a visit to a French aircraft carrier in the Gulf taking part in the air campaign, General Martin Dempsey appealed for "strategic patience" in the fight against the ISIS group in Iraq and Syria, according to AFP. Expanding the air war could risk civilian casualties and play into the hands of ISIS propaganda, he said aboard the Charles de Gaulle....

Iran's direct support for an Iraqi push to dislodge the Islamic State group from the northern city of Tikrit could turn out to be "a positive thing" if it does not inflame sectarian tensions, the top U.S. general said Tuesday. The statement by Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reflected the delicate balance Washington is trying to strike between limiting Iranian influence and allowing Iraqi leaders to determine their own path to defeating the Islamic State. U.S. officials have said Iraq did not ask the U.S. to provide air support for the Tikrit offensive, even though...

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has established a research and essay competition in honor of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz hosted by the National Defense University. The king, who died Jan. 23 at age 90, oversaw the modernization of his country’s military during the time he spent as commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard, a position he held from 1963 until he became king in 2005. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey said the essay competition is a fitting tribute to the life and leadership of the Saudi Arabian monarch. The king was a lifetime supporter...

Count the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman among those who believe it’s in the national interest to close the Guantánamo Bay detention center. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey said the facility at the U.S. Navy base in Cuba “does create a psychological scar on our national values. Whether it should or not, it does.”

The U.S. military is considering sending a limited number of American ground forces to fight alongside Iraqi troops as they launch complex missions to regain territory lost to Islamic State militants, the country’s top military officer said Thursday. Thus far, American military personnel have been limited to serving as rear guard advisers to the Iraqi security forces and the Kurdish peshmerga. But Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said that could change as the campaign against the Islamic State becomes more difficult. “As it evolves there are certain operations that could be more complex than the ones in...

Barack Obama did not tell the whole story this autumn when he tried to make the case that Bashar al-Assad was responsible for the chemical weapons attack near Damascus on 21 August. In some instances, he omitted important intelligence, and in others he presented assumptions as facts. Most significant, he failed to acknowledge something known to the US intelligence community: that the Syrian army is not the only party in the country’s civil war with access to sarin, the nerve agent that a UN study concluded – without assessing responsibility – had been used in the rocket attack. In the...

The leader of U.S. military efforts to fight ISIS in Iraq says the terror group came within 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) of the Baghdad airport. Offering what appeared to be previously unreported details, Gen. Martin Dempsey told ABC's "This Week" that the United States had to risk bringing in low-flying attack helicopters to keep ISIS at bay. "The tool that was immediately available was the Apache [helicopter]. The risk of operating in a hostile environment is there constantly," the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. "You're not going to wait until they're climbing over the wall," Dempsey said....

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz accused top U.S. military officials of behaving like “social workers” in Iraq and Syria rather than showing military strength. In an interview Tuesday night with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Mr. Cruz said he was disappointed by responses from Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Martin Dempsey after he questioned them at a Senate hearing on the administration’s plan to defeat the Islamic State. “Frankly, their answers were far more those you would expect of a social worker, than of military leaders,” Mr. Cruz said. The Republican senator, who is considering a...

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told the Congress on Tuesday that he recommends deploying US ground forces against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq, in a direct contradiction of US President Barack Obama's largely hands off approach. Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Dempsey backed the coalition being formed against ISIS, but said if the limited airstrikes do not stop ISIS's advance he would push Obama to take the attack to the ground, reports the New York Times. "My view at this point is that this coalition is the appropriate way forward. ...But...

Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) thinks folks were hearing things during General Martin Dempsey’s testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee this morning. When asked if he thought Dempsey’s comments, that a limited American troop presence could be required in certain circumstances in the fight against ISIS, meant the general was opening the door to ground troops, Levin looked at reporters as if they were a dog that had just been shown a card trick. “No,” Levin said. “He said they’re not needed.” Levin was pressed on Dempsey’s comments, in which the general said that a specific mission, such as the...

President Obama has repeatedly declared there will be no combat troops on the ground in Iraq to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. But a Senate hearing Tuesday with top US military officials revealed that pronouncement is on very shaky ground—there is now no question ground troops are under active consideration at the highest levels of government. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in his opening remarks he isn’t ruling out asking Obama for ground troops. “To be clear, if we reach the point where I believe our advisers should accompany Iraqi...

Testifying on Capitol Hill Tuesday in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey said that although "we're not there yet," the United States may eventually need to deploy U.S. ground troops to fight ISIS if a coalition and airstrikes fail to get the job done against the terror army. “My view at this point is that this coalition is the appropriate way forward. I believe that will prove true but if it fails to be true and if there are threats to the United States then I of course would...

What is the enduring lesson of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, when the Bush administration overestimated and, in some cases, exaggerated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein? Some say it's to be skeptical of government officials who are making the case for war. I say the legacy should be skepticism toward government officials, period—all of them. Their hidden agendas can shade the case for peace as well as war, which might explain why there's no consensus among so-called experts about the threat posed today by ISIS. On a scale of zero to panic, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint...

To get an idea of why this White House has placed America in what Senate Armed Services Committee ranking Republican James Inhofe of Oklahoma calls "the most dangerous position we've ever been in as a nation," we turn to one of Obama's biggest mainstream media devotees. In "The Promise," the fawning book about Obama's first year in office by ex-Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter, we read of a May 2009 meeting with the presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan on how to "Disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaida." Alter writes, "Nothing much concrete was accomplished ... . The session was kicked off not...

The United States’ top military officer is in Vietnam for historic talks with Communist Party officials, as part of the latest effort to expand defense ties between the two former foes. General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, meets Thursday in Hanoi with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh. Before entering a closed-door meeting, Dempsey told reporters the visit is “one of the highlights” of his career. It is the first time since 1971 a chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has visited Vietnam. Vietnam’s defense ministry said the talks...

Clint Dempsey at FUSE event With Three Days Grace in 2006. Credit: G. Gershoff/WireImage/Getty Images. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Jun 17, 2014 / 12:55 pm (CNA).- U.S. soccer fans went wild on Monday as team captain Clint Dempsey scored a goal during the first minute of the clubâ€™s opening World Cup game against Ghana. The goal is among the quickest in World Cup history and the fastest scored by an American during the World Cup games, adding to numerous records help by the acclaimed player, who is also the first American to score in three different World Cups. Perhaps less...

Late Monday night, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, posted a note on Facebook regarding the swap of five senior Taliban commanders for SGT Bowe Bergdahl. Dempsey addresses the accusations that Bergdahl may have deserted his post in Afghanistan, but allows that any investigation will depend on what Bergdahl says. If thatÂ’s the case, there will be no true investigation. Dempsey also fails to acknowledge the six Americans who were killed during searches for Bergdahl. In response to those of you interested in my personal judgments about the recovery of SGT Bowe Bergdahl, the questions about...

The debate continues over the value of the trade executed to return US soldier Bowe Bergdahl from captivity, especially focusing on the circumstances of Bergdahlâ€™s capture. The chair of the Joint Chiefs, General Martin Dempsey, issued a statement today that the Army would indeed investigate those circumstances and the allegations of desertion in due course. Dempsey argued, though, that this question is and should be separate from the duty of the US to get him back from his captors: The Army will investigate charges that rescued Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl deserted his post in Afghanistan, Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey...

As I say, I'm inclined to be generous, and put some of this down to the natural torpor and ineptitude of government. But Hillary Clinton and General Martin Dempsey are guilty of something worse, in the secretary of state's weirdly obsessive remarks about an obscure film supposedly disrespectful of Mohammed and the chairman of the joint chiefs' telephone call to a private citizen asking him if he could please ease up on the old Islamophobia. Forget the free-speech arguments. In this case, as Secretary Clinton and General Dempsey well know, the film has even less to do with anything than...

With diplomacy having failed miserably to resolve the Russian annexation of Crimea, and soon East Ukraine (and with John Kerry in charge of it, was there ever any doubt), the US is moving to the heavy artillery. First, moments ago, the US DOE announced in a shocking announcement that it would proceed with the first draw down and sale of crude from the US strategic petroleum reserve, the first since June 2011, in what it said was a "test sale to check the operational capabilities of system infrastructure", but is really just a shot across the bow at Putin for...

Minutes after the American consulate in Benghazi came under assault on Sept. 11, 2012, the nation's top civilian and uniformed defense officials -- headed for a previously scheduled Oval Office session with President Obama -- were informed that the event was a "terrorist attack," declassified documents show. The new evidence raises the question of why the top military men, one of whom was a member of the president's Cabinet, allowed him and other senior Obama administration officials to press a false narrative of the Benghazi attacks for two weeks afterward. Gen. Carter Ham, who at the time was head of...

Yesterday was a red letter day--or perhaps it should be called an Islamic green letter one--for U.S. intelligence. For the first time I can recall, the top legislator on a congressional oversight committee actually made clear what motivates our enemies in what used to be called euphemistically the “War on Terror,” ... What makes this incontrovertible statement so noteworthy? It is the fact that the intelligence community is not allowed to say it. Under Obama administration guidelines, for intelligence officers–and for that matter, law enforcement, Homeland Security and military personnel–to talk about Islamic jihadism and shariah as the motivation for...

SIMI VALLEY, Calif.—The U.S. military's top commanders, groping for ways to cope with a shrinking Pentagon budget, have agreed to a plan that would curb the growth of pay and benefits for housing, education and health—prized features of military life that for years have been spared from cuts. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a weekend interview that without such changes, the cost of military personnel would soon rise to 60% from about half of the defense budget. "What we have asked these young men and women to do over the last 10 years,...

A young Christian girl beheaded in Syria. The sign of extremism and fanatics, the long beards, is present in each and everyone of these subhuman Muslims who killed this small child, in their jihad to Allah – inspired by the Quran. This is Obama, Britain, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey funded and supported handiwork. Don’t put your support behind any of these people, whether for military action in Syria, asylum, immigration, another hate preaching mosque. This is what is moving into your town, your country, your society, your neighborhood: video... This video is written with false propaganda claiming...

... President Bashar al-Assad did not personally order last month's chemical weapons attack near Damascus that has triggered calls for US military intervention, and blocked numerous requests from his military commanders against opponents in recent months, a German newspaper has reported, citing unidentified, high-level national security sources. ...

At the National Review, December 14, 2011, there is a past article entitled "John Kerry reporting for duty ... to the Muslim Brotherhood." In that article, it says that the Obama administration described the organization as a "largely secular" and moderate organization. Just two years later, Kerry said that the overthrow of these same "moderates" constituted a return of Democracy to Egypt. Now we hear Kerry and Co. saying that the Syrian rebels are "moderates," too. Riiiiight. The ones that are cannibals? The ones that even Turkish newspapers have past documention on as being caught with 2kg of Sarin gas...

Gen. Martin Dempsey, the top Pentagon officer repeatedly warned against the costs and potential entanglements of military involvement in Syria. Now he's testifying on behalf of the White House. The nation's top military officer warned repeatedly in recent months that getting US military involved with Syria is a dangerous proposition... Did he change his mind or is he just doing the White House's bidding? In the past, he has made it clear that US military intervention could tip the balance of power in favor of Islamist rebels who don't necessarily have the interests of the United States at heart...

Yesterday, it was the Senate committee on foreign relations, today it is the House committee on foreign affairs' turn. Hagel, Kerry, and a seemingly begrudging General Dempsey trudge across the street to re-pitch the 'surgical, 90-day minimum, no-well-maybe-some-boots-on-the-ground' "use of force in Syria," and "weighing the Obama Administration's Response."

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey couldn’t answer what exactly the U.S. was seeking in Syria Tuesday during questioning from Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.) about a resolution authorizing military action there:

Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Dooley’s career has been effectively destroyed by General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, various complicit members of the Pentagon and the military and, most of all, political correctness on the part of the U.S. government. Col. Dooley, who was awarded the Bronze Star, the fourth-highest combat decoration, is a West Point graduate and highly rated armor officer who served in Iraq, Germany, Bosnia and Kuwait. He was, until recently, the instructor of a course to fellow officers on the dangers of radical Islam at the Joint Forces Staff College (part of the National...

ANN ARBOR, MI – During a Pentagon press conference on May 10, 2012, General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, publicly excoriated Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Matthew Dooley, a 1994 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a highly decorated combat veteran. His reason: The course on Islamic Radicalism which LTC Dooley was teaching at the Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC) of the National Defense University was offensive to Muslims. General Dempsey characterized LTC Dooley’s course as "totally objectionable," and ordered all material offensive to Islam scrubbed from military professional education within the JFSC and...

Photo credit Israel Ministry of Defense Visiting US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey met with top Israeli military brass on Wednesday to discuss regional cooperation and the strengthening of military ties between Israel and the US. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon stressed the central role that Iran was playing in current events and the need for Israel to remain vigilant. “The instability in the Middle East is due, in part, to the Iranian regime, which is involved in every conflict in the area,” he said. “We also need to be prepared for a prolonged conflict...

Gen. Mark Welsh, the chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, has completed a secret visit to Israel, where was the guest of the Commander of the Israel Air Force, Maj.-Gen. Amir Eshel. snip The officials discussed a number of topics including mutual security challenges in light of the regional security situation. Welsh and Eshel also discussed plans to further strengthen the cooperation between the U.S. Air Force and the Israel Air Force, according to the IDF. The meeting, which reportedly was kept secret at the request of the United States, comes in advance of a scheduled visit by...

The top US military officer is scheduled to arrive in Israel and Jordan next week, in a visit which will focus in part on Iran and the war in Syria, the US military said Wednesday. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will meet in Israel with his counterpart, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, to discuss advances in Iran's nuclear program, which Israel regards as an existential threat, given the Islamic regime's declared ambition of destroying the Jewish State, and continued support for anti-Israel terrorist groups. "In Israel, the chairman expects to discuss the United States'...

The saga of LTC Matthew Dooley, the Officer condemned for portraying Islam negatively, terminated from a teaching position and publicly scorned by high-ranking officials continues to suffer the “fall-out” from recklessly made decisions absent of any due process. For over a year, Dooley’s career has been in limbo creating undue hardship for his family. Earlier this year, a military corrections board consisting of 2 Generals and 3 Colonels, recommended Dooley be retained on the Army’s Battalion Command List. The newly confirmed Chief of the U.S. Central Command, General Lloyd J. Austin III, then Deputy Chief of Staff for the Army,...

WASHINGTON - The top US military officer said on Wednesday he has recommended bolstering Lebanese forces grappling with the fallout from Syria's civil war by sending in military trainers and accelerating arms sales. General Martin Dempsey also said he had recommended helping Iraq better deal with the re-emergence of al-Qaida. "We've made a recommendation that as we look at the challenges faced by the Lebanese armed forces, the Iraqi security forces with a re-emerging al-Qaida in Iraq, and the Jordanians, that we would work with them to help them build additional capability," Dempsey told reporters at the Pentagon. snip

JERUSALEM – In a bombshell admission that has until now gone unreported, Martin Dempsey, chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, conceded that highly trained Special Forces were stationed just a few hours away from Benghazi on the night of the attacks but were not told to deploy to Libya. In comments that may warrant further investigation, Dempsey stated at a Senate hearing Wednesday that on the night of the Sept. 11, 2012, attack, command of the Special Forces – known as C-110, or the EUCOM CIF – was transferred from the military’s European command to AFRICOM, or the United States...

Despite the challenges of Syria, National Security Agency leaks, sexual assaults in the ranks and the fiscal vise of sequestration, the death of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, last Sept. 11 continues to preoccupy some lawmakers. The terror attack killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Glen Doherty, Sean Smith and Tyrone Woods. The latest example took place Wednesday before the Senate Budget Committee, generally not viewed as a center of national-security thinking. Nonetheless, if every senator sees herself or himself as a President, he or she also can pretend to be chair(wo)man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It’s the way...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday that four members of Army special forces in Tripoli were never told to stand down after last year's deadly assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, disputing a former top diplomat's claim that the unit might have helped Americans under siege. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey said timing and the need for the unit to help with casualties from Benghazi resulted in orders for the special forces to remain in Tripoli. Four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, died in two separate attacks several hours apart...

Some might recall Lt. Col. Matthew Dooley, the decorated Army officer (who says) he was fired last year from his position as a war college instructor because of his teachings about jihad and Islam. Now, he’s suffered another setback in his career: he’s been rejected as commander of a combat battalion.[snip]“But after 18 years of hard work, family sacrifice, six deployments and outstanding officer evaluations, Matt’s dream was shattered by Gen. Dempsey.”[snip]...“Yet, despite Gen. Dempsey’s personal attacks on LTC Dooley, a command review board consisting of generals and colonels voted to retain LTC Dooley on the list for battalion command....

U.S. intelligence officials are still trying to piece together the tragic events of the past few days that led to the unrest in Egypt and Libya and at least four murders. But behind the scenes is Gainesville, Fla., Dove World Outreach Center pastor Terry Jones and a man federal authorities have now identified as a Southern California Coptic Christian by the name of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, who adopted the persona of Sam Bacile, the man who produced the amateur film titled "Innocence of Muslims" that Muslim extremists say sparked Tuesday's violence that killed Stevens and three others. Nakoula is...

The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, announced late last week that it is representing U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Dooley, a 1994 Graduate of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point and released the letter sent by 57 Muslim groups demanding the removal of military instructions that they say is offensive to Islam. In April 2012, LTC Dooley, a highly decorated combat veteran, was publically condemned by General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and relieved of his teaching assignment because of the negative way...